1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ligature and suture device for medical applications, to a ligature and suture system for medical applications, and to a ligaturing and suturing method for medical applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, various instruments have been proposed to suture body tissue using peroral endoscopy. For example, when treating gastroesophageal regurgitation, a ligature and suture device is known that is used to prevent the regurgitation of gastric acid by suturing the biomedical tissue so as to cause it to bulge and thereby forming an artificial valve (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
The instrument described in Patent Document 1 is formed such that a suturing member in the form of a hollow needle body, that has a suture thread inserted inside it and that has a T-bar attached to a distal end thereof, performs suturing by being made to penetrate biomedical tissue from one direction, and then being pulled back so that the suture thread is inserted through the biomedical tissue, and the T-bar is anchored in the biomedical tissue.
According to this ligature and suture device for medical applications, because the distal end portion where the ligature treatment is carried out is connected by an elongated, narrow sheath to the operation portion by the hand of an expert operator, instead of sensing by hand the amount of force that is being applied to the tissue when the suture thread is being tightened by the operation section at the operator's hand in order to make the tissue bulge out, the expert operator performs the suturing while verifying the condition of the bulging tissue using an endoscope image.
Moreover, the instrument described in Patent Document 2 is formed such that needles that are penetrated by pledgets are made to approach each other from two directions so as to sandwich biomedical tissue, and the suture thread is inserted through the biomedical tissue.
Furthermore, in order to prevent the suture thread during a ligaturing treatment from biting into the tissue, a suturing member that is provided with a receiving plate member between a T-bar and a stopper that penetrates the suture thread on the operator's side of the T-bar, and also a suturing member that uses a flat T-bar have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
(Patent Document 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-159254
(Patent Document 2) US Patent Application, Publication No. 2002/0040226A1
(Patent Document 3) US Patent Application, Publication No. 2003/0236535A1